When you partner with one or more other people to do business, you create a legal business partnership, one that is usually documented with a partnership agreement. When a partner violates the terms of that business relationship, it constitutes a breach of this agreement. What can you do to set things right when this occurs?

Potential Legal Remedies

Texas law provides legal actions you may take if a partner is found in breach of your agreement, some of which are subject to the terms of the agreement itself. These include:

• Buyout. If your partner broke the agreement due to a serious dispute, that is irresolvable and paralyzes the company a deadlock, an agreement prepared in advance for just such a situation can provide several means of resolution, ranging from a person who breaks the deadlock to a buyout procedure that allows a partner to buy the other partner out.

• Dissolving the partnership. You can make the argument that if your business partner won’t keep the terms of your agreement, and the deadlock can’t be resolved by other means, your partnership is void, and you can take steps to dissolve the partnership officially. If there are three or more partners, you may also move to expel the offending partner—but only if your partnership agreement provides for it.

• Suing for liability for breach. If you can demonstrate that the partner has done harm by failing to keep your agreement, you may be able to hold the partner legally liable for breach in a court of law or through arbitration.

• Settlement agreement. If your partner broke the agreement due to a dispute, you may be able to resolve your differences on paper by negotiating a separate settlement agreement, which can also be legally binding. This can occur through a mediated settlement after litigation or arbitration begins, or occasionally by agreement before then.

Should You Take Legal Action?

Be advised that even if you have legal recourse for a breach of partnership agreement, you could set the stage for further animosity if you jump to pursue a legal remedy—not to mention possibly lengthy and costly court battles. Sometimes a meaningful conversation with an offending partner (perhaps with a mediator) can go a lot further toward settling your differences. In addition, if you take legal steps that aren’t specifically spelled out in your partnership agreement, you leave the door open for a countersuit. Thus, a properly drafted agreement is critical.

Since business partnership disputes can be complex and costly, you should have a Fort Worth partnership dispute attorney review your partnership agreement and discuss your options before taking action. For assistance, call Armstrong The Law Firm, P.C., today at 972-424-L-A-W-S (5297).